The National Heritage Board debuts the Singapore Pavilion at London Craft Week 2026 with Future Craft, showcasing 15 Singapore-based heritage craft and design practitioners.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) has debuted the Singapore Pavilion at London Craft Week 2026 with Future Craft, a curated showcase featuring the works of 15 Singapore-based heritage craft and design practitioners. Marking the largest collective presentation of local living heritage practitioners at an international event to date, the showcase highlights Singapore’s diverse cultural traditions and contemporary craft innovations on the global stage.
Held at Battersea Power Station in London until 17 May, Future Craft presents a wide spectrum of Singaporean craft and design practices, ranging from time-honoured traditions to contemporary reinterpretations. Featured craft forms include metalworking, lacquerwork, bird cage-making, woodworking, rangoli, lion dance, beading, embroidery, ceramics, and kebaya-making.
The showcase explores how Singapore’s craft practitioners and designers continue to reinterpret traditional techniques, innovate with materials, and engage with themes of heritage, sustainability, and identity. It also extends NHB’s Craft X Design initiative, launched in 2021 to pair traditional craft practitioners with local designers in reimagining heritage crafts into contemporary products. Eight additional practitioners were selected through an open call to participate alongside the Craft X Design collaborators.
Among the featured practitioners are established names such as rangoli artist Vijaya Mohan, lacquerwork practitioner Andy Yeo, and designer Oniatta Effendi, alongside emerging voices in Singapore’s heritage landscape. LASALLE College of the Arts student Nicholas Chee presents 3D-printed bird-cage ornaments inspired by his late grandfather’s craft practice, while ceramic artist Stephanie Zheng showcases works fired at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle, Singapore’s last working dragon kiln.
“The variety of crafts, design disciplines, and heritage on show at Future Craft is an apt representation of Singapore’s rich cultural diversity,” said Low Sze Wee, Group Director (Museums), National Heritage Board. “NHB is very proud to be able to share this with the world, and enable our practitioners to be ambassadors of our identity by demonstrating their skills and sharing their ideas to overseas audiences.”
Complementing the exhibition is a series of public programmes led by participating practitioners, allowing visitors to engage directly with the makers and their crafts. Programme highlights include The Art of Nonya Beading by Raymond Wong, Decorative Papercut Lamp Workshop by Jimm Wong, Hands on Rangoli by Vijaya Mohan, and Silver Beats Gamified Lion Dance + Artist Talk by Lynn Wong.
Additional sessions include metalworking workshops by Matthias Yong, a dragon kiln presentation by Stephanie Zheng, lacquer threading demonstrations by Andy Yeo, and a surfboard craft demonstration by Muhammad Dhiya, whose practice draws inspiration from traditional Southeast Asian boat-building techniques.
Through its exhibitions and accompanying programmes, Future Craft underscores the continued relevance of Singapore’s living heritage and the evolving role of traditional craft in contemporary culture. NHB is also exploring plans to stage the showcase in Singapore at a later date.
